N.B. We are imposing the rule that, to be eligible for this list, a player must have made at least 100 Premier League appearances.
So, while they have all played in the English top flight, the likes of David O’Leary, Ronnie Whelan, Mark Kennedy, Alan Kelly, Kevin Moran, Josh Cullen, Dara O’Shea, Keith Andrews, Evan Ferguson, Caoimhín Kelleher, John Egan and Enda Stevens fall short as they are below this number.
From the resulting list, while a player’s overall talent level is taken into account, the primary factor in determining an individual’s position is how well they fared in the Premier League. So, for instance, Mark Kinsella indisputably had a better international career than Damien Delaney but had less impact at Premier League level, so is below him on the list.
10. Steve Staunton (288 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Another example of a player whose best moments came just before the Premier League era.
Staunton was 17 when he moved from hometown club Dundalk to Liverpool for £20,000 (€23,000).
He made a handful of appearances on loan at Bradford City, before breaking into the Reds’ first team.
The Drogheda native played 65 times across three seasons, helping the club win the league title and the FA Cup during that period.
It was at Aston Villa, though, where he spent the majority of his career. Staunton featured in every game of the inaugural Premier League season for Villa, as they finished runners-up to Man United.
He spent 10 seasons in total at the club across two spells, helping them win the League Cup in 1994 and 1996.
The club finished in the top seven in five out of seven seasons in Staunton’s first spell, before a surprise return to Liverpool during the Roy Evans-Gerard Houllier era.
The full-back, who could also operate at centre-back and on the wing, played regularly in his first season as the Reds finished seventh, but was used sparingly thereafter.
A move back to Villa rejuvenated Staunton’s career, and he helped the club achieve back-to-back eighth-place finishes before a disappointing 16th place spelt the end of his time there.
He played two more seasons with Coventry City in the Championship and had a brief spell in League One with Walsall before retiring.
While the 21-month spell as Ireland manager is not fondly remembered, his playing career always will be, as he is part of a select group of players to have earned over 100 caps.
Only four players – Kevin Kilbane, John O’Shea, Shay Given and Robbie Keane – have made more appearances for the Boys in Green.
9. Seamus Coleman (372 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Pound for pound, one of the best signings in Everton and Premier League history was the £60,000 (€70,000) they paid to pry Seamus Coleman away from Sligo Rovers.
He went on to represent the Toffees for the next 17 years, breaking the club record for the most Premier League appearances.
In total, the full-back played 433 times in all competitions before announcing his departure at the end of last season.
Coleman’s first four seasons as a regular all ended with Everton securing a top-seven finish.
2013-14 was probably his peak, when he secured both the Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year awards, in addition to making the PFA Team of the Year, as the team finished fifth with a club record of 72 Premier League points.
The Bit O’Red alumnae could probably have moved on to a bigger club at this point if he kicked up a fuss – he was linked with Man United on multiple occasions.
But the Donegal native stuck with the Toffees and proceeded to firmly establish himself as a club legend.
Through no fault of Coleman’s, Everton failed to build on the success of the early 2010s and even flirted with relegation at times.
A broken leg suffered playing for Ireland against Wales in March 2017 also had an impact on his career trajectory and kept him out of action for a considerable period.
But for the resilience and leadership he has demonstrated for nearly 20 years (this October will be the 20th anniversary of his League of Ireland debut) playing for Ireland and Everton, he fully deserves a place in the top 10 of this list.
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8. John O’Shea (445 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
No outfield Irish player has made more Premier League appearances than O’Shea. Another example of how far dedication to your craft can take you.
There are more talented players than O’Shea lower on the list, but few that can match his commitment and professionalism.
In 10 seasons with Man United, he made 256 appearances, with a winning goal at Anfield among the highlights in the club’s triumphant 2006–07 season.
During that time, he won five Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup.
In the latter part of his career, the Waterford native was a key figure for a Sunderland side that invariably found themselves at the wrong end of the table, but repeatedly avoided relegation, owing to O’Shea’s composure and leadership among other assets.
The Black Cats also came close to winning a trophy in that era, reaching the 2014 League Cup final.
He was also rare in that the vast majority of his time was played in the top flight, aside from brief loan stints as a youngster in the Second Division with Bournemouth and in the Belgian First Division at Royal Antwerp.
Only at the end of his career, at the age of 36, did O’Shea make his Championship debut, playing a season in the second tier with Sunderland and making a handful of appearances for Reading the following year.
Whether playing full-back, centre-half, midfield or even goalkeeper, O’Shea usually was a solid, reliable presence.
7. Richard Dunne (431 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
It is sometimes underestimated just how good Dunne was in his prime. After breaking into the Everton team as a youngster, he joined Man City for £3.5 million (€4.09 million) in 2000.
In stark contrast with the dominant side of today, this was a City team who often found themselves struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
Indeed, they were relegated in Dunne’s first season, but sealed a top-flight return at the first attempt.
The Dubliner quickly became an indispensable figure – he was the club’s Player of the Year four seasons on the bounce between 2004 and 2008, while becoming club captain in 2006.
Teammate Micah Richards once said: “I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.”
Following the arrivals of Kolo Touré and Joleon Lescott, Dunne left City for Aston Villa in a £5 million deal.
The Irishman continued to impress in three seasons of regular football there, making the PFA Team of the Year as Martin O’Neill’s side finished sixth in the 2009-10 campaign.
In the last two seasons of his career, he helped QPR gain promotion to the Premier League, though the squad was a mess as they went straight back down the following campaign.
Dunne also won 80 caps for Ireland, featuring in the squad for the 2002 World Cup, while he was key in particular to the team qualifying for Euro 2012, including a famous, gallant display in a 0-0 draw against Russia in Moscow.
6. Shay Given (451 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Comfortably the top Irish goalkeeper of his era, no Boys in Green player has more Premier League appearances than Given, while he is also the team’s second most-capped international behind Robbie Keane.
He couldn’t break through as a youngster at Blackburn, but impressed in loan spells at Swindon and Sunderland before beginning an 11-and-a-half-season stint at Newcastle.
It was at the Magpies where Given was at his best, winning the club’s Player of the Year accolade in 2005 and 2006, while he also made the PFA Team of the Year twice.
There were some good times in that era, including Champions League football and three consecutive top-five finishes under Bobby Robson.
Given left for City in a £5.9 million deal when he was only 34 games away from breaking Jimmy Lawrence’s Newcastle appearance record.
His departure came midway through the 2008-09 campaign, and without the Donegal native, the Magpies were promptly relegated.
This was a City team who were developing from also-rans to genuine top-four contenders, and manager Roberto Mancini labelled Given among the world’s five best goalkeepers.
But after a season and a half as a regular there, the Irish star lost his place to Joe Hart and moved to Aston Villa.
Given was 35 by the time he made the £3.5 million (€4.09 million) switch. In his first season, he was a regular in the Alex McLeish-managed side that narrowly avoided relegation, and thereafter, he served as backup.
The veteran made 16 appearances on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship and a further eight at Stoke City before retiring.
5. Paul McGrath (166 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
If you were to count his whole career, McGrath would definitely be even higher on the list.
Nonetheless, the centre-back saved probably his best season for the Premier League, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award at the end of the 1992-93 campaign as Villa finished second, 10 points behind McGrath’s former club Man United.
It was the fourth consecutive Player of the Season award he had won at Villa, while 1993 also saw the last of his four Ballon D’Or nominations.
Some of the iconic player’s best performances were reserved for his 83 caps with the Boys in Green, most notably his remarkable display in the shock 1-0 victory over eventual finalists Italy at the 1994 World Cup.
In total, the Dubliner played four full Premier League seasons for an inconsistent Villa team – the other campaigns saw them finish 10th, 18th and fifth, though McGrath also featured in League Cup finals in 1994 and 1996, winning on both occasions.
He played 24 times as the newly promoted club secured their Premier League status for the following season by finishing 12th, despite McGrath training infrequently due to severe knee pain.
He made a further 12 appearances in the First Division with Sheffield United before ending one of Irish football’s most illustrious careers.
4. Damien Duff (392 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
At his absolute best, few, if any, Irish footballers in the Premier League era could match Duff in terms of pure football ability.
He was still a teenager when he broke into the Blackburn team, winning the Man of the Match award on his debut as an 18-year-old and playing 26 times in the 1997-98 campaign.
The club were relegated the following season, but Duff was one of their best performers and the Dubliner made the PFA Team of the Year the following season as they were promoted straight back up.
The winger’s performances for Ireland caught the eye too – he made Uefa’s Team of the Year in 2002 having starred at that summer’s World Cup, featuring alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.
These accolades helped pave the way for a £17 million (€19.83 million) move to Chelsea ahead of the 2003-04 season amid the beginning of the Roman Abramovich era.
Duff thrived in the early stages of this spell and won two Premier League titles with the Blues as well as the League Cup.
Injuries were a factor for Duff towards the end of his Chelsea stint, and after a short time at left-back/wing-back, he made the £5 million (€5.83 million) move to Newcastle in the summer of 2006.
Yet more injury problems limited his impact at St James’ Park, and the former St Kevin’s Boys youngster moved on after the club’s relegation.
He enjoyed a career resurgence at Fulham, playing regularly in four of his five seasons at Craven Cottage and helping the club reach the Europa League final in 2010, losing to a Diego Forlan-inspired Atletico Madrid after extra time.
The 100-times-capped Ireland international also had short spells in Australia with Melbourne City and the Premier Division at Shamrock Rovers, before retiring and going on to become a highly acclaimed coach – he won the title with Shelbourne in 2024 before being appointed Keith Andrews’ assistant at Brentford this summer.
3. Robbie Keane (349 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The best Irish striker ever to grace the game?
Keane was a serial record breaker. He had more caps, international goals and Premier League goals than any other Boys in Green player.
After excelling at Wolves, the Crumlin United graduate joined Coventry for £6 million (€7 million), which was a British football record for a teenager at the time.
The Dubliner made a big impact at the Sky Blues, scoring 12 goals in 31 appearances in his only season at the club.
An ill-fated £13 million (€15.19 million) move to Inter Milan ensued. Keane barely got a look in, scoring no goals and making only six appearances - Álvaro Recoba, Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Hakan Şükür were among the club’s other forward options at the time.
A switch to Leeds had mixed results – Keane’s game time was again limited, with plenty of competition up front, though he still managed a respectable tally of 13 goals in 46 appearances.
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It was at Tottenham, though, that the Tallaght native’s Premier League career really took off.
In his first spell, the striker scored 80 goals in 197 appearances, prompting a £19 million (€22.16 million) move to Liverpool.
Keane’s short spell at Anfield was largely unhappy. Rafa Benitez never showed much faith in the Irish star, who was often consigned to the bench and left after half a season with five goals from 19 Premier League appearances.
His second stint at Spurs was less successful than the first, as he managed 11 goals from 41 appearances.
There were a couple of short loan moves around this period to Celtic, West Ham and Aston Villa, but it was at MLS club LA Galaxy that the veteran forward secured legendary status, scoring 83 goals from 125 appearances across six seasons.
For Ireland, Keane has featured in all three of the team’s major tournament appearances this century, and the country has struggled to find a replacement in the 10 years since his retirement.
2. Denis Irwin (328 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Along with Roy Keane and Ronnie Whelan, Irwin is the joint most-decorated player in Irish football history – each of the trio have won 19 major trophies.
Irwin was on the verge of turning 27 by the time of the inaugural Premier League season.
The Corkonian spent the first seven campaigns of his career playing in the Second Division with Leeds United and Oldham, helping the latter reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup.
He went on to become one of the most important signings of the Alex Ferguson era, joining for £650,000 in 1990.
In 12 years, he made 296 Premier League appearances for United, winning seven titles, two FA Cups, the League Cup, Champions League and Cup Winners’ Cup, while earning 56 caps and appearing at the 1994 World Cup for Ireland.
At 36, after his release by United, he had another two seasons at Wolves, becoming a key figure as the club were promoted to the Premier League, though Irwin couldn’t prevent their relegation the following season – making 32 appearances in his final campaign.
You would be hard-pressed to identify a superior full-back in Irish or Premier League football history.
1. Roy Keane (366 appearances)
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
A strong contender for greatest Irish footballer and sportsman of all time.
No Irish player has come close to matching Keane’s achievements since his retirement 20 years ago.
He made his name in three seasons at Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, earning runners-up medals in both the FA Cup and League Cup while there, before joining Man United for £3.75 million (€4.37 million) – a British transfer record at the time.
For the ensuing 12 and a half seasons, Keane was the heartbeat of Alex Ferguson’s side.
He more or less always played if he wasn’t injured and inspired the club to seven title triumphs, four FA Cups and the Champions League.
He made five appearances in the PFA Team of the Year, also making the PFA Team of the Century (1907–2007), while he is one of only three Irish players to have won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year (Liam Brady and Paul McGrath are the others).
After his controversial Man United exit, he won a league and cup double in six months with Celtic before retiring.
For Ireland, he won 67 caps, starring at the 1994 World Cup and being instrumental to the team’s qualification in 2002.
Post-playing, he has had a mixed career as a coach – winning the Championship with Sunderland in 2007 was the highlight.
But these days, he is most renowned as being among the most popular pundits on British television.
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Ireland's greatest-ever Premier League players: 10-1
N.B. We are imposing the rule that, to be eligible for this list, a player must have made at least 100 Premier League appearances.
So, while they have all played in the English top flight, the likes of David O’Leary, Ronnie Whelan, Mark Kennedy, Alan Kelly, Kevin Moran, Josh Cullen, Dara O’Shea, Keith Andrews, Evan Ferguson, Caoimhín Kelleher, John Egan and Enda Stevens fall short as they are below this number.
From the resulting list, while a player’s overall talent level is taken into account, the primary factor in determining an individual’s position is how well they fared in the Premier League. So, for instance, Mark Kinsella indisputably had a better international career than Damien Delaney but had less impact at Premier League level, so is below him on the list.
10. Steve Staunton (288 appearances)
Another example of a player whose best moments came just before the Premier League era.
Staunton was 17 when he moved from hometown club Dundalk to Liverpool for £20,000 (€23,000).
He made a handful of appearances on loan at Bradford City, before breaking into the Reds’ first team.
The Drogheda native played 65 times across three seasons, helping the club win the league title and the FA Cup during that period.
It was at Aston Villa, though, where he spent the majority of his career. Staunton featured in every game of the inaugural Premier League season for Villa, as they finished runners-up to Man United.
He spent 10 seasons in total at the club across two spells, helping them win the League Cup in 1994 and 1996.
The club finished in the top seven in five out of seven seasons in Staunton’s first spell, before a surprise return to Liverpool during the Roy Evans-Gerard Houllier era.
The full-back, who could also operate at centre-back and on the wing, played regularly in his first season as the Reds finished seventh, but was used sparingly thereafter.
A move back to Villa rejuvenated Staunton’s career, and he helped the club achieve back-to-back eighth-place finishes before a disappointing 16th place spelt the end of his time there.
He played two more seasons with Coventry City in the Championship and had a brief spell in League One with Walsall before retiring.
While the 21-month spell as Ireland manager is not fondly remembered, his playing career always will be, as he is part of a select group of players to have earned over 100 caps.
Only four players – Kevin Kilbane, John O’Shea, Shay Given and Robbie Keane – have made more appearances for the Boys in Green.
9. Seamus Coleman (372 appearances)
Pound for pound, one of the best signings in Everton and Premier League history was the £60,000 (€70,000) they paid to pry Seamus Coleman away from Sligo Rovers.
He went on to represent the Toffees for the next 17 years, breaking the club record for the most Premier League appearances.
In total, the full-back played 433 times in all competitions before announcing his departure at the end of last season.
Coleman’s first four seasons as a regular all ended with Everton securing a top-seven finish.
2013-14 was probably his peak, when he secured both the Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Year awards, in addition to making the PFA Team of the Year, as the team finished fifth with a club record of 72 Premier League points.
The Bit O’Red alumnae could probably have moved on to a bigger club at this point if he kicked up a fuss – he was linked with Man United on multiple occasions.
But the Donegal native stuck with the Toffees and proceeded to firmly establish himself as a club legend.
Through no fault of Coleman’s, Everton failed to build on the success of the early 2010s and even flirted with relegation at times.
A broken leg suffered playing for Ireland against Wales in March 2017 also had an impact on his career trajectory and kept him out of action for a considerable period.
But for the resilience and leadership he has demonstrated for nearly 20 years (this October will be the 20th anniversary of his League of Ireland debut) playing for Ireland and Everton, he fully deserves a place in the top 10 of this list.
8. John O’Shea (445 appearances)
No outfield Irish player has made more Premier League appearances than O’Shea. Another example of how far dedication to your craft can take you.
There are more talented players than O’Shea lower on the list, but few that can match his commitment and professionalism.
In 10 seasons with Man United, he made 256 appearances, with a winning goal at Anfield among the highlights in the club’s triumphant 2006–07 season.
During that time, he won five Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup.
In the latter part of his career, the Waterford native was a key figure for a Sunderland side that invariably found themselves at the wrong end of the table, but repeatedly avoided relegation, owing to O’Shea’s composure and leadership among other assets.
The Black Cats also came close to winning a trophy in that era, reaching the 2014 League Cup final.
He was also rare in that the vast majority of his time was played in the top flight, aside from brief loan stints as a youngster in the Second Division with Bournemouth and in the Belgian First Division at Royal Antwerp.
Only at the end of his career, at the age of 36, did O’Shea make his Championship debut, playing a season in the second tier with Sunderland and making a handful of appearances for Reading the following year.
Whether playing full-back, centre-half, midfield or even goalkeeper, O’Shea usually was a solid, reliable presence.
7. Richard Dunne (431 appearances)
It is sometimes underestimated just how good Dunne was in his prime. After breaking into the Everton team as a youngster, he joined Man City for £3.5 million (€4.09 million) in 2000.
In stark contrast with the dominant side of today, this was a City team who often found themselves struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
Indeed, they were relegated in Dunne’s first season, but sealed a top-flight return at the first attempt.
The Dubliner quickly became an indispensable figure – he was the club’s Player of the Year four seasons on the bounce between 2004 and 2008, while becoming club captain in 2006.
Teammate Micah Richards once said: “I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.”
Following the arrivals of Kolo Touré and Joleon Lescott, Dunne left City for Aston Villa in a £5 million deal.
The Irishman continued to impress in three seasons of regular football there, making the PFA Team of the Year as Martin O’Neill’s side finished sixth in the 2009-10 campaign.
In the last two seasons of his career, he helped QPR gain promotion to the Premier League, though the squad was a mess as they went straight back down the following campaign.
Dunne also won 80 caps for Ireland, featuring in the squad for the 2002 World Cup, while he was key in particular to the team qualifying for Euro 2012, including a famous, gallant display in a 0-0 draw against Russia in Moscow.
6. Shay Given (451 appearances)
Comfortably the top Irish goalkeeper of his era, no Boys in Green player has more Premier League appearances than Given, while he is also the team’s second most-capped international behind Robbie Keane.
He couldn’t break through as a youngster at Blackburn, but impressed in loan spells at Swindon and Sunderland before beginning an 11-and-a-half-season stint at Newcastle.
It was at the Magpies where Given was at his best, winning the club’s Player of the Year accolade in 2005 and 2006, while he also made the PFA Team of the Year twice.
There were some good times in that era, including Champions League football and three consecutive top-five finishes under Bobby Robson.
Given left for City in a £5.9 million deal when he was only 34 games away from breaking Jimmy Lawrence’s Newcastle appearance record.
His departure came midway through the 2008-09 campaign, and without the Donegal native, the Magpies were promptly relegated.
This was a City team who were developing from also-rans to genuine top-four contenders, and manager Roberto Mancini labelled Given among the world’s five best goalkeepers.
But after a season and a half as a regular there, the Irish star lost his place to Joe Hart and moved to Aston Villa.
Given was 35 by the time he made the £3.5 million (€4.09 million) switch. In his first season, he was a regular in the Alex McLeish-managed side that narrowly avoided relegation, and thereafter, he served as backup.
The veteran made 16 appearances on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship and a further eight at Stoke City before retiring.
5. Paul McGrath (166 appearances)
If you were to count his whole career, McGrath would definitely be even higher on the list.
Nonetheless, the centre-back saved probably his best season for the Premier League, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award at the end of the 1992-93 campaign as Villa finished second, 10 points behind McGrath’s former club Man United.
It was the fourth consecutive Player of the Season award he had won at Villa, while 1993 also saw the last of his four Ballon D’Or nominations.
Some of the iconic player’s best performances were reserved for his 83 caps with the Boys in Green, most notably his remarkable display in the shock 1-0 victory over eventual finalists Italy at the 1994 World Cup.
In total, the Dubliner played four full Premier League seasons for an inconsistent Villa team – the other campaigns saw them finish 10th, 18th and fifth, though McGrath also featured in League Cup finals in 1994 and 1996, winning on both occasions.
Approaching his 37th birthday, McGrath also had a short-but-impactful spell at Derby County.
He played 24 times as the newly promoted club secured their Premier League status for the following season by finishing 12th, despite McGrath training infrequently due to severe knee pain.
He made a further 12 appearances in the First Division with Sheffield United before ending one of Irish football’s most illustrious careers.
4. Damien Duff (392 appearances)
At his absolute best, few, if any, Irish footballers in the Premier League era could match Duff in terms of pure football ability.
He was still a teenager when he broke into the Blackburn team, winning the Man of the Match award on his debut as an 18-year-old and playing 26 times in the 1997-98 campaign.
The club were relegated the following season, but Duff was one of their best performers and the Dubliner made the PFA Team of the Year the following season as they were promoted straight back up.
The winger’s performances for Ireland caught the eye too – he made Uefa’s Team of the Year in 2002 having starred at that summer’s World Cup, featuring alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.
These accolades helped pave the way for a £17 million (€19.83 million) move to Chelsea ahead of the 2003-04 season amid the beginning of the Roman Abramovich era.
Duff thrived in the early stages of this spell and won two Premier League titles with the Blues as well as the League Cup.
Injuries were a factor for Duff towards the end of his Chelsea stint, and after a short time at left-back/wing-back, he made the £5 million (€5.83 million) move to Newcastle in the summer of 2006.
Yet more injury problems limited his impact at St James’ Park, and the former St Kevin’s Boys youngster moved on after the club’s relegation.
He enjoyed a career resurgence at Fulham, playing regularly in four of his five seasons at Craven Cottage and helping the club reach the Europa League final in 2010, losing to a Diego Forlan-inspired Atletico Madrid after extra time.
The 100-times-capped Ireland international also had short spells in Australia with Melbourne City and the Premier Division at Shamrock Rovers, before retiring and going on to become a highly acclaimed coach – he won the title with Shelbourne in 2024 before being appointed Keith Andrews’ assistant at Brentford this summer.
3. Robbie Keane (349 appearances)
The best Irish striker ever to grace the game?
Keane was a serial record breaker. He had more caps, international goals and Premier League goals than any other Boys in Green player.
After excelling at Wolves, the Crumlin United graduate joined Coventry for £6 million (€7 million), which was a British football record for a teenager at the time.
The Dubliner made a big impact at the Sky Blues, scoring 12 goals in 31 appearances in his only season at the club.
An ill-fated £13 million (€15.19 million) move to Inter Milan ensued. Keane barely got a look in, scoring no goals and making only six appearances - Álvaro Recoba, Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Hakan Şükür were among the club’s other forward options at the time.
A switch to Leeds had mixed results – Keane’s game time was again limited, with plenty of competition up front, though he still managed a respectable tally of 13 goals in 46 appearances.
It was at Tottenham, though, that the Tallaght native’s Premier League career really took off.
In his first spell, the striker scored 80 goals in 197 appearances, prompting a £19 million (€22.16 million) move to Liverpool.
Keane’s short spell at Anfield was largely unhappy. Rafa Benitez never showed much faith in the Irish star, who was often consigned to the bench and left after half a season with five goals from 19 Premier League appearances.
His second stint at Spurs was less successful than the first, as he managed 11 goals from 41 appearances.
There were a couple of short loan moves around this period to Celtic, West Ham and Aston Villa, but it was at MLS club LA Galaxy that the veteran forward secured legendary status, scoring 83 goals from 125 appearances across six seasons.
For Ireland, Keane has featured in all three of the team’s major tournament appearances this century, and the country has struggled to find a replacement in the 10 years since his retirement.
2. Denis Irwin (328 appearances)
Along with Roy Keane and Ronnie Whelan, Irwin is the joint most-decorated player in Irish football history – each of the trio have won 19 major trophies.
Irwin was on the verge of turning 27 by the time of the inaugural Premier League season.
The Corkonian spent the first seven campaigns of his career playing in the Second Division with Leeds United and Oldham, helping the latter reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup.
He went on to become one of the most important signings of the Alex Ferguson era, joining for £650,000 in 1990.
In 12 years, he made 296 Premier League appearances for United, winning seven titles, two FA Cups, the League Cup, Champions League and Cup Winners’ Cup, while earning 56 caps and appearing at the 1994 World Cup for Ireland.
At 36, after his release by United, he had another two seasons at Wolves, becoming a key figure as the club were promoted to the Premier League, though Irwin couldn’t prevent their relegation the following season – making 32 appearances in his final campaign.
You would be hard-pressed to identify a superior full-back in Irish or Premier League football history.
1. Roy Keane (366 appearances)
A strong contender for greatest Irish footballer and sportsman of all time.
No Irish player has come close to matching Keane’s achievements since his retirement 20 years ago.
He made his name in three seasons at Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, earning runners-up medals in both the FA Cup and League Cup while there, before joining Man United for £3.75 million (€4.37 million) – a British transfer record at the time.
For the ensuing 12 and a half seasons, Keane was the heartbeat of Alex Ferguson’s side.
He more or less always played if he wasn’t injured and inspired the club to seven title triumphs, four FA Cups and the Champions League.
He made five appearances in the PFA Team of the Year, also making the PFA Team of the Century (1907–2007), while he is one of only three Irish players to have won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year (Liam Brady and Paul McGrath are the others).
After his controversial Man United exit, he won a league and cup double in six months with Celtic before retiring.
For Ireland, he won 67 caps, starring at the 1994 World Cup and being instrumental to the team’s qualification in 2002.
Post-playing, he has had a mixed career as a coach – winning the Championship with Sunderland in 2007 was the highlight.
But these days, he is most renowned as being among the most popular pundits on British television.
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